Any shot at Wild Kingdom? (1 Viewer)

I know this is an odd show to ask about, but any chance of seeing the classic Wild Kingdom episodes from the 1970s released? I dunno, just would be kind of fun to see and I think they might sell pretty well, given the popularity of nature documentaries and the Animal Planet network.

The Mutual of Omaha's "Wild Kingdom" with Marlon Perkins. Yeah, I remember that show. It ran for many years and was a staple on Sunday afternoons way back in the sixties and seventies. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a best of set sometime in the future.

Yes, the question is now who controls the rights? Is it still Mutual of Omaha, is it NBC who ran the show, is it Animal Planet who ran a version of the show? Who should we be talking to? And for that matter, just how much material is out there floating around?

NBC? I was under the impression it was syndicated.

It ran I think first on NBC and then was syndicated but I know in my market (NY), it ran on WNBC prior to "Wonderful World Of Disney" even during its syndicated period.

I'd love to see these again, but it would HAVE to have all those commercial bits with ole Marlin hawking Mutual of Omaha. It just wouldn't be the same without them.

According to my handy dandy Guide to TV, Wild Kingdom ran on NBC from 1963 to 1971, then ran in syndication from 1971 to 1988. So suffice to say, everyone's right and there should be a SUBSTANTIAL ammount of material, maybe not for season sets, but a number of best ofs is possibe.

As for the commercials, think that's up to Mutual of Omaha and any estates involved. But we're back to right issues again. Button, button...

I agree the commercials would be a must too, because one of the things I remember most was how at the end of the commercial there'd be this male singer going, "Mutual of Omaha people...". Somehow the show wouldn't be complete without it.

Ironically, Marlin did one last commercial for Mutual while he was dying from cancer to plug how they'd done good for him during his treatment.

Perkins hosted Wild Kingdom for the first 22 years, until 1985. He died a year later.

Wow, what a run.

"Mutual of Omaha is people...you can count on when the going's rough."

Wonderful news from TSoD:
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=2874
I know a lot of people hate "best of" sets, but at least it's a start! And, IMO, it's at least a logical way of grouping some of these shows...it's obvious some thought and effort went into the sets.
And the prices...wow!
Thanks for the news, David!

You're welcome, Linda (and everyone else)!
I was tempted to tip my hand when I first saw this thread, but I figured I'd wait until I had time to get the full news story up, and give everyone their money's worth!!
I've got a few other news posts to get together for today, but I didn this one early just for you guys.

know a lot of people hate "best of" sets, but at least it's a start! And, IMO, it's at least a logical way of grouping some of these shows...it's obvious some thought and effort went into the sets.

A wise man named Matt Hankinson said in the Candid Camera thread that "While I prefer season sets for almost all shows, 'Candid Camera' is a great example of a show where "best of" compilations are the only way to go." I would say that Wild Kingdom also qualifies, wouldn't you?

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Wow, when I responded the other day, I was thinking what an unlikely proposition it was, to have "Wild Kingdom" on dvd. Glad to hear of the impending releases. It will be nice to revisit the series after all these years. There's something I miss about those old-style documentary type shows, with their unique pacing and narration and whatnot. Such vintage 'filmed' series used to have an intriguingly exotic distance to them, that has long been lost with the immediacy (and banality) of shot-on-video fare.

David, I owe you a drink sometime! Thanks for the great news!

Yes, this is EXACTLY how I pictured Wild Kingdom getting released, as a best-of series, and the eps they've picked look great! Hopefully they sell well and more will be on the way soon.

Yeah, I'm greedy, so kill me. In any case, very pleased to see the release news. Now, to save up my pennies!

Excellent, especially at the price. There just isn't anything like that old Disney/Wild Kingdom feel of exotic adventure anymore. Now we have the Crocodile Hunter.

"While Jim is being eaten by the giant Anaconda, let me say a word about Mutual of Omaha term life insurance . . . ."

Any idea what the quality on these sets will be like?

Hard to tell before we see them!
At least one response to this question, Jeff, is going to be along the lines of "This is coming from BCI Eclipse, aka Brentwood, so it can't be any good". You ask them why they say that, and they'll point to the company's history of public domain releases.
They're well aware of all that. And they are trying hard to earn back everyone's respect and trust by putting out great product. They have recently said to me, "We are a very different company than what we were just a year ago. Instead of a little independent company making our hay with PD movies, we now have a 400+ million dollar company backing us, and we’re working towards becoming much more of a player."
Gone are the days of pumping out PD crap. In the past year they have released cool TV-on-DVD stuff like The New Zoo Revue, BBC's Rides, Overhaulin', Dusty's Trail, The ABC Afterschool Specials, and now Clutch Cargo and Wild Kingdom. They've got the deal for He-Man, and they plan to do it right...and they know that leading up to the release of the big blonde guy with the sword, all eyes are on the releases they put out in the meantime.
Of course anything's possible, but I find it hard to believe they'll let us down at this point. Time will tell, though.

That would have been why I asked the question, David.
Hopefully these will look great.